Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) to Post Q3 2024 Earnings of $2.32 Per Share, Leerink Partnrs Forecasts

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) – Equities research analysts at Leerink Partnrs lifted their Q3 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Quest Diagnostics in a note issued to investors on Monday, August 26th. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Cherny now expects that the medical research company will post earnings of $2.32 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $2.30. The consensus estimate for Quest Diagnostics’ current full-year earnings is $8.89 per share.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $144.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.33.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $156.97 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $146.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.85. The company has a market cap of $17.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $119.59 and a twelve month high of $157.34.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. Quest Diagnostics’s payout ratio is 40.38%.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,206.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 420 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total value of $60,093.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at $718,118.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,206.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $140,472,000. Nuance Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth $83,070,000. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth $48,783,000. M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth $46,432,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,921,955 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,853,151,000 after acquiring an additional 345,754 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated provides diagnostic testing and services in the United States and internationally. The company develops and delivers diagnostic information services, such as routine, non-routine and advanced clinical testing, anatomic pathology testing, and other diagnostic information services.